Last night, the homie shot me this feature interviewing most of Tha Carter III producers. I posted it in the review but I think it went unnoticed and it prolly shouldn’t have. So…

“A Milli” (produced by Bangladesh)

Bangladesh: This girl I produced for, Shanell, got it to him. But I never went to the lab with him. If I had my way, I would like it more. But I wasn’t around, so what he felt, he put on there. I just thought he would make more of a song out of it, honestly. He’s just rapping. If it was going on the mixtape, it’s cool, but not on no album or single. It’s saying “a milli.” He needs to pop about being a millionaire. He switched it up and tried to make it “ill.” If that was somebody else, it wouldn’t be on the radio. Read the rest of this entry »

Words By Patrick M.

Preemo is not my favorite producer, but in many ways, I consider him Hip-Hop’s purist. Much of what he does – be it sampled lines or in how he structures his productions – seems pretty simple. Yet it obviously is not replicable, because no one else is able to capture a sound that connects to Hip-Hop’s past while seeming to push the music forward quite like he does.

Much of this is built into how he scratches choruses, always choosing the right sample. Sometimes it’s symbolic, like the famous Rakim scratch on Illmatic’s “Memory Lane.” Sometimes it’s outlandish, like scratching a Snoop snippet on “D’evils” in the middle of the East Coast-West Coast feud. But it always sounds perfect, hitting Read the rest of this entry »

Words By Contraâ„¢

“The greater the problem, the less likely one is to understand the solution.”-Mama Contra

I expressly refused to “review” this album because reviewing is almost formulaic: Give the highs, the lows, the pros, the cons, the overview and then justify the rating.

It’s like grading a paper.

Much as I understand that even art students get grades, great artists don’t get reviewed; they get discussed.

By no means am I saying that Blu and Taraach are the Leonardo Da Vinci and Raphael of Hip-Hop in ‘08. But if Hip-Hop has ever needed a Renaissance, a rebirth, this would be the time and these just may be the guys to do it. Read the rest of this entry »

Pic By Kyla, Graphics by P

Ta’Raach and Blu might be the hardest people in Hip-Hop to get a hold of. Last time I ran into Blu was at the Pete Rock vs. Primo show a few weeks back and when I saw him I was so happy I did a shuffle.

“Whoa! I get a little dance?!?” he asked.

“Of course!” I said. “You have no idea how hard it is to get at you. You and ‘Raach.”

“Whaaaat?” he said, and he side-smiled like “Who, me?”

Here’s the thing with Ta’Raach and Blu — neither of them has a car or phone. Technically Ta’Raach has a phone, but not one that I’ve been able to get him on. It’s a wonder these two dudes get a hold of each other.

Despite the frustration of trying to contact them, I developed a hypothesis as to why they stay just beyond arm’s reach. First of all, when you do actually see one or both of them it makes you do a little dance. Second, it adds to the enigmatic aura that is C.R.A.C. Knuckles. Third, and most confidently, it makes them the two least uptight people I know.

In this age when we’re all glued to our Blackberry or Sidekick, constantly receiving emails, text messages, phone calls & bulletins, it’s hard to imagine taking a breath and saying, “Fuck it. I’ll be there when I be there.” That said, I’ve never seen Blu without an ear-to-ear grin on his face, or watched him turn a blind eye to dap. I’ve never seen Ta’Raach stress over stage time or wristbands. But I have seen both dudes give love where love is given, take time for those who ask for it and laugh full-bodied at each other’s jokes as well as their own.

“Yooooo!” Ta’Raach gave me with a hug when I ran into him and Blu on another night. “Blu told me you were here, but I didn’t believe him.”

“Why wouldn’t you believe him?” I asked.

“Because Blu lies all the time.”

“Whaaaat?” said Blu, giving the “Who, me?” side smile.

“You do!” said Ta’Raach. “Blu lies, like, for fun. Just to see if he can.”

“Nah, I do not!” said Blu.

“Quit lying. You lying right now!”

“Man!” I said. “I told Blu I’m ready to do this interview when you are. I want to talk about ‘Cotton’.”

“Oh shit! You want to talk about ‘Cotton’?? We can talk about ‘Cotton’!” Read the rest of this entry »

I ended up catching the replay of BET’s “T.I. Speaks” earlier this morning after coming home from the gym. I can’t say that I even wanted to see it in the first place, but I wasn’t ready to sleep, I was a little intrigued to see who would show up: T.I., T.I.P., or Cliff Harris, & I wanted to see how bad BET would butcher the whole thing (they’re good for that these days.) Things weren’t looking good as things opened with a video montage chronicling the childhoods of both T.I. & T.I.P. Right off the bat T.I looks calm & reflective as he answers questions. Sounding like a politician or preacher, he spoke in measured tones, making sure that he what wants to say is understood clearly.

My biggest thing is I wanted to see if he was going to Read the rest of this entry »

In the journey that is music, the ultimate destination is obviously us, the listener. We don’t see all the work artists endure to reach this goal-the long hours on tour and the relationships put on hold. Each career becomes a second hand moped-started then stopped and started all over again. Just like the mud-stained bike, it’s not guaranteed for another ride.

Stan B. Robinson is one of those journeymen. With jet black dreadlocks hanging off his shoulders, Stan’s initial scowl towards his audiences alters to a smile. The dude is charismatic as fuck. You’d buy an album from him without even hearing him spit. He’s an emcee’s emcee with the ability to make you laugh like the latest “yo mama” crack or hold down a story like a Morgan Freeman anecdotal voice over.

Known to the rest of the world as Substantial, the music has taken him from his roots in Maryland to the competitive world of the New York underground scene; notoriety in Japan, and then back home. After a seven year wait, his sophomore release, Sacrifice (QN5 Music) attempts to embody its title. The Crew’s Jason H. sat down to talk to Substantial – from his big dog status in the land of the rising sun, his definition of sacrifice and coming home to good ol’ “Murrrland.”

Photo by Eddie Tombs

TSS: So what’s going on man?

Substantial: The same old grind brother.

TSS: Word. Let’s get to it…You’ve been a staple on the New York underground scene for some time but you’re a Maryland native. Did holding it down in New York benefit your career?

Substantial: Definitely. I felt that if I could make a name for myself where it all started, then there would be nothing I couldn’t accomplish.

TSS: But now that you’re back in MD. How do you see the scene with artists such as Wale or Kev Brown emerging, as well as people’s perspectives of the area from shows like “The Wire“?

Substantial: I think the scene is bursting with potential. There are a lot of amazing artists coming out of the DMV (DC/Maryland/Virginia) area and it’s only a matter of time before the world recognizes who we are. As far as “The Wire“, there’s a lot of truth in that show but that’s only one side of MD. There’s a lot of wonderful things happening here everyday that unfortunately get overshadowed by the negative.

TSS: With that said do you feel you bring the positive then with feel good tracks like “Resurrection of the House Party?”

Substantial: I definitely try to provide some balance. No one is one way all the time. It’s important to have that balance.

TSS: How bout your individual style? As a lyricist how do approach songwriting? Do you try to tackle themes or do you adhere to the emotion of the production?

Substantial: I usually like to write to the beat first. That’s how the topic comes to me a lot of times. I base it on the feel of the music. I feel that’s the best way to compliment the production. I also skat a little to figure out different ways to approach the flow.

TSS: Who then provided these beats to inspire your writing on Sacrifice? Read the rest of this entry »

Is it just me or is 50 an entertaining mofo?

Anytime he’s in the media, whether it be radio, Internet interview, or magazine, I’m all for it. Yeah, the sales for Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ allowed him a pass to get away with the occasional bouts of mouth diarrhea, but what rapper isn’t feeling themselves when they’re on top? Yesterday on Hot97 (don’t sleep on their podcasts), Miss Jones and crew were discussing 50′s recent decision to have his son and baby mom’s kicked out the house Curtis built. He openly embraced the conversation and even took the liberty of bringing up his favorite topic: Fat Joe. And according to him, Young Buck’s days as a G-Unit group artist have come to an end. Can we say déjà vu, Jayceon? Read the rest of this entry »

As if he needed any more selling points. I’ve been buying this man’s party line since he took the stage at the Democratic National Convention in 2004 backing the wind-surfing, supremely-coifed, Pete-Carroll-esque John Kerry.

Barack Obama has always had my vote.

Now he has my heart. Read the rest of this entry »

Damn near twenty years in the game and Del is still a breath of fresh air in a hip-hop culture that at times has appeared stagnant and some (read: one) have even declared dead. First dropping I Wish My Brother George Was Here in 1991, and then founding Bay-area crew Hieroglyphics and releasing Third Eye Vision in 1998, Del has given listeners passion, creativity, and a certain level of uniqueness for the last fifteen years. TSS crew member Ian M. got on the phone with Del while he was on tour in Canada for a discussion on his new album, a Deltron sequel, the Nintendo Wii, and getting harassed at the border.

TSS: What’s going on Del?

Del: What’s happenin?

TSS: Good to finally connect. You don’t have a cell phone?

Del: Nah…I don’t talk on the phone. I got a Sidekick, but I ain’t paid the bills so it’s cut off.

TSS: Ha. OK. I’m with Smoking Section, I don’t know if you know us but we…

Del: No I heard of y’all. I seen y’all online for sure doing your thing.

TSS: Yeah, thanks. I think we have the freshest content out there, but you know a lot of our draw is musical download. What do you think about that?

Del: How I feel about it? I feel like this man: It’s cool because a lot of shit you can’t get no more or you might have on cassette, know what I’m saying, or you might have the CD and can’t find it. It’s just that much easier to download it at that moment, or if you want to check something out, know what I mean, before you get it, to see if it is worth your merit or whatever. I don’t mind it on that level, but there’s a lot of cheapos out there who think they can just download shit and never buy a fucking record.

TSS: I have to agree. The way I see a lot of artists reacting is people are starting to put a lot of records, mixtapes out there for exclusive download on the internet. Have you ever thought about doing something like that?

Del: I was going to do an album called Achilles Heel and I was going to give the motherfucker away online for free. This is before this downloading shit even happened like now, this was like five or six years ago.

TSS: What happened to it?

Del: Nothing. I still got the songs. Shit man, I got to focus and finish my fucking album. I just stopped thinking about the motherfucker basically.

TSS: Where are you right now? How is the tour going? What is the structure of this tour?

Del: I’m basically trying to hit up shit I ain’t hit in a while. Canada, um, Alaska is basically where I’m at. Just came out of Alaska…we in Canada now.

TSS: Does all of your sound – an American sound or a Bay sound – translate into the context of the Canadian experience?

Del: I would imagine everyone experiences hip hop in their own way. They [Canadians] feel it for sure. I was out there, they was hyped, they was hyphy, they loved it. I ain’t got no complaints about how they received me. I don’t know how they receive everyone else, but while I was out there they showed me hella love. Which is good because it was a pain in the ass to get out there. Both Canada and fucking Alaska especially because flight after flight after flight, I was a madman when I got out there. In Canada, you can’t cross the fucking border without them looking up your bootyhole. When you do get out here they show you a lot of love because they know what it takes to get out here. Read the rest of this entry »